In the Moment
by C.B. Magique
Summary: [Princess Story side-story] Zexion takes Kairi on a date to a different world and the difference between those with hearts and those without becomes abundantly clear when Kairi thinks the moment is right to take things one step further.


**Back with more one-shots and more Zexiri and _moar_ Princess Story side-stories! I can't help it, I'm just infatuated with the idea of Kairi and Zexion dating as a Princess of Heart/Nobody couple and trying to figure out how that works. **

**Also, I'm just like "I have the first couple of chapters to the sequel to Princess Story done but I told myself that I have to finish other in-progress stories before I post anything", which turned out to be a stupid idea since Tidus' Adventures in Traverse Town is going absolutely nowhere right now and Altered Memories is getting where it's going quite slowly. At this point I've just settled for finishing AM and TATT can take its sweet time but seeing some extra support for either of them would be nice. It would also help me finish (I know, shamelessly self-advertising but pretty please? *blinks cutely*) In the meantime, I worked on some one-shots, instead of using that time to work on new chapters.**

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**IMPORTANT: this story is a side-story to a freaking fanfic novel I finished writing over a year ago. If you read Princess Story and like Zexiri, then this is a treat for you. If you haven't read Princess Story then this is what you need to know: stuff happened in that fic and as a result of those events Kairi started falling out of love with Sora and is now dating Zexion. And this is not a crazy AU, this story is heavily based in canon with some adjustments.  
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**This little one-shot does make references to stuff that happened/was said in Princess Story, so I suppose it's a little bit spoiler-ish; that's really the most of what you have to keep in mind. The most jarring (aside from the crack!pairing) will probably be Kairi's ice skating - that's a thing she learned how to do in Princess Story. At this point it's assumed that she's practised enough that she's _kind of_ good at it.**

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**Even though this is a fanfic of a fanfic, I'm still pretty sure that I don't actually own the copyrights of Disney and Square Enix characters and locations. And even if I did, this is for fun, not for funds. **

**Fluffiness abounds, ye who dare to continue. Please leave your thoughts in a review, that would make me super happy (unless you're mean. If you have criticism, criticise, but don't be a flamer.)  
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**In the Moment**

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Up on Yuletide Hill the snow sat deep and even. There was not a single stirring, not even the wind disturbed the peace. Suddenly, space tore and warped as a dark portal opened up. A redheaded girl leaped out excitedly, planting her feet in the snow as a grey-haired teenage boy followed her soberly.

Kairi looked all around, bright-eyed and grinning at the world around her. Her eyes lingered on the tree with the pumpkin portal behind them and then turned to focus on the little town at the base of the hill. The lights were still up in the candy-coloured town and snow capped the rooves like icing so that it appeared to be like a little gingerbread town. She put her hands over her chest as she gazed in wonder at it.

"So this is what it's like to see another world," she whispered to herself.

"It's not like you haven't been to other worlds before," Zexion piped up, coming to stand beside her, "is it?"

"Well, no. But it's the first time I've been to a nice world. Don't give me that look, let me explain! I've never been to a world that I wasn't chased to or kidnapped to or something. I've never been to another world where I could stand outside and look around and not feel afraid that anything's going to come after me, or that if something did come after me I could fight it. It almost feels like I'm going on an adventure. This is fun!"

"I'm glad," Zexion said, smiling despite the emotionless tone. "But it's not an adventure if – like you said – we're not going anywhere."

Kairi giggled excitedly and ran down the hill, twirling around every now and then and walking backwards to watch her feet make footprints in the snow. Snow was so much fun except for the fact that it was cold but Zexion was good enough at charms that that could be avoided. She would have to remember to make him teach her that one day. Even though they had their own adequate protection, Kairi still put on tights and a jacket to at least look as though she was dressing appropriately for the climate.

The town was bright and conveyed an atmosphere of warmth despite the cold air. There were lights strung up along the eaves and across the streets, lighting them in warm yellow light, unlike the various colours they would display when it was actually Christmastime. A night market kept the main street crowded. People were full of laughter and smiles everywhere they looked, children tumbled through the street and swung on the colourful carousel and everyone was dressed colourfully in curly shoes and hats that made Kairi giggle at first. The food was sweet and the drinks were hot. Some of the stalls were for games others were selling shards, potions or trinkets. Zexion bought Kairi a set of hair clips made in all sorts of silly shapes like candy canes, Christmas bows and snowmen and later on Kairi managed to win a small metal dragon with tiny blue rhinestones for eyes in an archery game that used arrows tipped with powder.

The hours wore on and the moon crossed the sky. Kairi and Zexion began to leave the market, both tired and almost overfull from the food but still buzzing with energy. As they walked out into a part of town that wasn't as brightly lit as the market, Kairi admired her little dragon running her fingers over the beaten textures on its body. It was made of a metal she had never seen before and it was freezing cold to the touch, even with the charm on. Its gilded colour waned as they moved away from the light.

"You seem quite taken with that," Zexion remarked, cocking his head to the side. She was wearing as many of the hair clips as she could manage to fit on her bangs, which ended up looking quite ridiculous.

"It's beautiful," Kairi said, grinning at it. "The colour, the craftsmanship, the shape… it's such a wonderful creature. Dragons don't look like this on the Destiny Islands."

"What do they look like?"

"Long and slender," Kairi replied wistfully. "Like serpents. Or like birds with really long necks." She pursed her lips contemplatively for a moment before turning to Zexion. "Why don't you have it?"

She held the little figurine out to him. He stared at it, furrowing his brow a bit. "Why? You won it fair and square."

"It's just a gift," Kairi insisted. "You got me something, so it's only fair that I bestow you with a meaningful token of my affection."

"You're making the assumption that this is a reciprocal action, which is—"

"Uh-uh!" Kairi interrupted with a warning tone, holding up her finger like she was making a point. "I _want_ to. Regardless of what you are and what your actions mean, this is a token of _my_ affection."

She stretched her arm out further so that the dragon was right in front of Zexion's chest. He had to stop walking to avoid running into it. He stared at it for a while, confused as to what Kairi was getting at and wracking his brain until he thought he had some semblance of an understanding. Slowly, he plucked the dragon from her hand with ginger fingers. She smiled as if he'd earned some kind of approval and tucked her hand into the crook of his arm to continue their walk. Suddenly, something caught her attention and she tugged him hard as she lurched in its direction.

"Oh! Look over there!"

Zexion turned to see where she was leading him. It was a frozen dam. A bridge crossed over the dam wall and on the other side a canal curved away into the town. Kairi dragged Zexion to the middle of the bridge and looked over the edge where the dam lake glowed in the moonlight, solid enough to stand on. Most buildings faced away from the lake so that the only light cast upon it was ambient from the streets or the backdoor lamps and there was nobody around to watch.

"Oh, I wish I brought my ice skates. We could go skating here."

"I can remedy that," Zexion said, summoning his Lexicon. He put the dragon away safely inside and pulled two pairs of skates out of the other page. Kairi snickered.

"Geez, is there anything you're not prepared for with that book?"

Zexion shrugged. The Lexicon disappeared into its own little dimension so that its master could have hands free to put on his skates. He sat on the rail next to Kairi to do up the laces. She hopped onto the ice before him, testing her balance before turning around to face him. She held out a hand and he took it as he slid off the rail and onto the ice. They did a couple of easy laps around the dam, getting a feel for the ice and warming up before Kairi turned around to face him and took his other hand.

"We should dance, like Minnie and Daisy."

"Their level is far beyond us," Zexion pointed out and Kairi gave him that warning look that he was becoming accustomed to, the one that cautioned that he was being annoyingly too technical. "But we can do it our own way… if you can keep up."

To Kairi's surprise, he closed in and let go of one hand to wrap it around her back. He steered them in a half turn, watching Kairi's reaction and raising an impressed eyebrow when she adjusted her skate to make the turn. They went around like that, turning at intervals in a simple parody of a waltz until someone decided to make the steps more difficult. Zexion wasn't sure who it was; there was a simple synchronicity in their dance. Kairi pulled away so that she could pass under his arm and he tugged her back. She spun into his arms and he picked her up by the waist, holding her to his side as he spun, lifting her feet off the ice.

When he put her down she glided away, turning gracefully and carving swirls into the ice with her blades. She batted her eyes teasingly at him, daring him to follow and he did. They were moving in that strange synchronicity again; he copied every move she made, managing to do so in a way that appeared to an onlooker to be simultaneous. Their hands reached for each other again and they spun together. Then Zexion daringly lifted her up over his head by the waist. She kept her balance with one hand on his shoulder and slowly came back down, turning to face Zexion as she did.

Kairi's skates settled on the ice gently and she looked up as Zexion looked down at her. Their gazes met. They stood in the middle of the lake, prolonging the moment where Zexion had his arms around her and she had her hands on his shoulders and they stared into each other's eyes intensely as if they were searching for something. Kairi's heart couldn't take any more and she wrapped her arms around Zexion's neck, lifting her chin to press her lips to his as her eyes closed.

Only he recoiled before they touched. Kairi blinked, pulling back and staring at him with a look that, had he had a heart, would have made him regret his actions. She looked betrayed, confused – her heart had felt that the moment was right. It hurt as though it had physically cracked. Zexion pulled into a tighter embrace, resting his chin on her shoulder as he prepared himself to mend it.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "but it can't be tonight."

"Why?" she asked, voice small and hurt.

"Because I wouldn't feel it," he answered, pulling back to look her in the eyes again. She didn't look so injured anymore and was looking at him with a dawning comprehension. Still, he explained: "As long as I'm a Nobody I can't reciprocate your feelings. I'm still searching for a way to restore my heart and I'm not sure if I'll still remember my time as Zexion if I ever do regain it. Moreover, even if I do, this moment will be merely a memory. I'd have to decide how to feel about it, almost like an afterthought. If we consolidate any affection we have for each other, I think it would be more meaningful when our hearts are in synch and I want to feel it in the moment, not look back on a memory like a picture book."

By the end of that, Kairi was smiling. She buried her face in his collar and hugged him tightly. "Thanks," she whispered.

Zexion held her until they both began to feel tired from a combination of standing out there on the ice and the late hour. They returned the skates to Zexion's book and put their shoes back on in preparation for Zexion to transport them back to the Destiny Islands.

The metal dragon appeared on the page as a drawing, reminding the book's master that it still existed there. Zexion ran a finger over the coloured image and it sank away, back into the pages' abyss. He closed his book far more gently that he ever had. He took Kairi's hand in his and – since there was nobody around to see anyway – opened a dark portal back to her island.


End file.
